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BS, You are a blessed man and totally unaware by whom you are blessed.

This none existent I AM you strenuously deny has graciously cloaked you in ignorance so your innocence is intact. Why He has chosen to have you remain unhearing and unseeing is anyone's guess, possibly because you wouldn't be able to make it on faith alone, I don't know.

What I do know is trying to convince you that there is indeed One God, Supreme, Self Evident, is a waste of time so I won't go there. I will however let you in on some knowledge that will manifest itself in an undeniable manner, the day Christ returns, the cloak of ignorance will be removed, and you will see.

Frankly, I don't care if you believe me or not, I am not sent to make you believe, but to sound the warning, to plant the seed, to tell you, you will believe, and you will bow your knee.

You will then begin a 1000 year period of learning discipline, and after that time is finished should you decide "It ain't for you" , this same I AM will let you choose to end your existence and you will be erased from all time, for and aft, as though you had never been. Additionally, those of use who remain will rejoice with you in your victory because you would be unhappy in heaven and we wouldn't want someone all unhappy and negative ruining it for the rest of us.

Not everyone responds the same way to circumstances. Some people draw near to God in bad times. Other people forsake God in bad times.

The mature Christian sticks with God through it all.

"I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." Philippians 4:11

I was camped on Psalm 107 for a spell in my life. I think it is appropriate for this conversation:
Psa 107:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say this-- those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
Psa 107:3 those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
Psa 107:4 Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle.
Psa 107:5 They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.
Psa 107:6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
Psa 107:7 He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.
Psa 107:8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
Psa 107:9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
Psa 107:10 Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains,
Psa 107:11 for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.
Psa 107:12 So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
Psa 107:13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
Psa 107:14 He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.
Psa 107:15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
Psa 107:16 for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.
Psa 107:17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
Psa 107:18 They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death.
Psa 107:19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
Psa 107:20 He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
Psa 107:21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.
Psa 107:22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.
Psa 107:23 Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters.
Psa 107:24 They saw the works of the LORD, his wonderful deeds in the deep.
Psa 107:25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.
Psa 107:26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted
away.
Psa 107:27 They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits' end.
Psa 107:28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.
Psa 107:29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
Psa 107:30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.
Psa 107:31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.
Psa 107:32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.
Psa 107:33 He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground,
Psa 107:34 and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
Psa 107:35 He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs;
Psa 107:36 there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle.
Psa 107:37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest;
Psa 107:38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish.
Psa 107:39 Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
Psa 107:40 he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste.
Psa 107:41 But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks.
Psa 107:42 The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths.
Psa 107:43 Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD.

Self professed atheists shun scripture like the plague . It means nothing to them .Only a believer can accept and believe the word of GOD . You only force them not to seek but to defend and strengthen their non belief to themselves , therefore beyond giving them GOD's offer of salvation is actually driving them farther away . Reinforcement of his offer of forgiveness , acceptance , love and eternal life is the only thing you can provide in their condition . With tv , radio , relatives , internet , out reach programs , churches whatever they have heard the gospel in this country . The choice they have made is their own Since GOD himself gives that choice I respect their right to make it .

That does not mean I like it . I wish , I hope and I pray they are able to find GOD . But they must seek him but until then I will give our GOD's offer of salvation and try to help any that seek him . When they find GOD we are here ! We all rejoice in their discovery and help them . I have seen it in this Chapel .

I understand how you meant it, Boaz, but actually, only a non-believer CAN receeive the Holy Spirit, for we believers are supposed to already HAVE it! Just a tiny technical thing, but thought it ought to be posted. You know I love and respect you.

I understand how you meant it, Boaz, but actually, only a non-believer CAN receeive the Holy Spirit, for we believers are supposed to already HAVE it! Just a tiny technical thing, but thought it ought to be posted. You know I love and respect you.

I never made mention of receiving the Holy Spirit . But I will not argue , go back and reread .

Well, Slug, you've provided a lot of declarations there, and all of them need to be addressed in fairness to both you and the board. I'll deal with them one by one:

Bigslug: Heck, that wasn't even one of my particularly atheistic posts; that one is more "The polytheistic Greeks may have had a better grasp on the universe than the Judeo/Christian/Muslim sects do.

BW: It really doesn't matter what you believe or where you get your ideas from. What MATTERS is what's True, and what's not.

Slug: So more of a question to the pre-conceived notions of monotheism, if you will.

BW: When you use the term "pre-conceived" as though you advocate that YOUR views are NOT "pre-conceived!" I think that's quite a stretch, don't you? You always only seek to impose your views, and never really defend them, other than to state it's what you've concluded personally, and on your own. You've never said that you've even done any real searching for the real Truth. You've just DECLARED what your views are, and have never said what the basis is for them - WHY you believe as you do - EXCEPT to point out that you've heard some things from other people, and seen a little of the world, and have used that ONLY as the "evidence" upon which you base your disbelief. I'd like to submit that if you HAD ever really sought the Truth, you COULD have found it, and yet may, if you drop the haughtiness in favor of a serious inquiry into what is REALLY real, and what is not, and is just willful thinking. But it's your decision entirely. Always and forever. And BTW, that word "forever" just MIGHT be a very real motive to do some genuine searching. But like all else, that' up to you, and you alone and entirely.

Slug: Polytheism doesn't particularly work for me either, but it smells more like truth than Man is the Apple of the One God's Eye. Even if it was all divinely constructed, there's a fair number of pointers that it wasn't necessarily all divinely constructed FOR US, which in turn points to the possibility of multiple contractors. OR, we're a WAY smaller cog in the One's great machine that even the most humble give us credit for, and sucking up to the boss is pointless. Hence, no desire to spend time on Him/Them whether He/They are real or not.

BW: Well, once again, you make assertions without any type, shape or form of backup for them. It's strictly all in your own, personal imagination that you've plucked these concepts, and NOT from any type of even potentially authoritative source. So once again, all you've done is stirred the air with your imagination, and if you're too determined to NOT believe, why is your imagination even important on a board and in a discussion like this? It may give you some warm fuzzies, but it stands out like a pig in a patch of pearls. What motivates you to make such declarations where you KNOW full well that they're not welcome, and cannot have any validity here due to lack of any sort of substantiation? Who and what kind of man would do such a thing?

Slug: So, now y'all know what might go through an atheist's mind when contemplating solar events through dark lenses and SPF-50.

BW: OK. But WHY would we want to know that? Do you think we didn't ALREADY know this? You've made your beliefs perfectly clear many times now. So what? Does that change the price of gas, or the price of milk for baby? Nope. It's just you prancing about, calling attention to yourself and your disbelief. You blaspheme, sir, and you KNOW you do it, and you do it intentionally, and with malevolent intent. And ALL because you fear something that you don't have, that we do - that it does NOT all end at the point of death. This is the only logical explanation for your occasional inserts here - pure ill will, and jealousy that we have something you do not. So if you're jealous, you can't be jealous of "nothing," or of error on our part. Inwardly, you KNOW - and furthermore, you MUST know - that what we have IS real - VERY real - and you just don't have the simple courage and respect for reality to admit it. THAT, sir, is YOUR weakness. NOT ours!

If you came here to investigate Truth, then you'd be welcome. As it is ..... well, let's just say your not on any of our "favorites list." You came here to be disruptive, and draw attention to yourself. OK. You've done that. So NOW what do you have as a result? A childish snicker? A whimsical "attaboy" for an essentially evil and blasphemous act? I hope you get SOMETHING from it, because it's been recorded in the Book of Life, and one day, unless it's all forgiven, you'll have to answer for it. You do NOT get to determine whether or not you'll have to answer for it. That decision was made long, long ago, by a power MUCH greater than your meager imagination!

So why not just leave this Chapel alone, unless and until you REALLY want to seek reality? Getting a little warm fuzzy for disrupting the normal good input here simply CANNOT give you THAT much glee, can it? If you want to search, or ask, bring it here and we'll try to honorably deal with your questions. Otherwise, your words of blasphemy and cowardice simply make you look bad. VERY bad!